Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said a price hike earlier this year was partly to blame for the online video giant falling short of forecasts for new subscribers in the most recent quarter.

Netflix’s stock, which fell slightly during the day’s trading session, plummeted more than 26 percent in the after market on the release of disappointing streaming subscribers additions during it earnings announcement.

Netflix gained 3 million streaming subscribers, which was below its forecast of 3.69 million for the third quarter.

Another disappointment was year-on-year net additions in the US, which fell to 980,000 from 1.3 million in the year-earlier third quarter.

Netflix announced a $1 price rise in May to new subscribers of its streaming service — bringing the monthly total to $8.99 — but assured existing subscribers they’d keep the old rate for at least two years.

Total streaming revenue increased 38 percent, to $1.22 billion, from the year-earlier quarter.

Earlier in the day, Time Warner announced its Warner Bros.-produced “Friends” (photo above) – all 236 episodes of the 10-year-old NBC series – had been licensed to Netflix for binge-viewing beginning on New Year’s Day.